MY CITY IN FIVE YEARS: a review of the 5PLUS City Forum International Conference

The 5Plus City Forum International Conference was held at the Palais des Congrès d’Issy-les-Moulineaux (Paris) between 20 and 21 March. The scientific committee for this event, which provided experts and scientists from around the world with an opportunity to share their vision of the city in five years, was chaired by Carlos Moreno.

Rising to the environmental, social and economic challenges of a living and complex organism like the modern city requires us to pool our analyses, approaches and expertise.

This was the key inspiration behind my decision to organise this conference, the contributions to which were of an exceptionally high quality. I would like to thank everyone who attended for their rich and varied ideas and the warmth they brought to the discussions. Building the resilient and pleasant cities of the future will involve innumerable challenges – but we clearly have the resources to rise to them!

As a scientist whose purpose is to turn technical advances to the benefit of mankind, I am delighted to see that the experts attending the conference from across the world shared my conviction that the city of the future should be designed for and by its inhabitants. An intelligent city is not a city of connected machines – but a city of informed, active and connected citizens.

I look forward to seeing you again next year for another conference.

Carlos Moreno
University Professor
Scientific adviser to the President of Cofely Inéo
Chair of the Scientific Committee of 5PLUS City Forum

Carlo Ratti et Carlos Moreno

Carlo Ratti, Director of the SENSEable City Lab of Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston